American Tower Asset Sub, LLC v. Hernando County Water and Sewer District

Filing 5

ORDER: The Clerk is directed to REMAND this case to the Fifth Judicial Circuit in and for Hernando County, Florida. Thereafter, the Clerk is directed to CLOSE THIS CASE. Signed by Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington on 11/25/2013. (CH)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
TAMPA DIVISION
AMERICAN TOWER ASSET SUB,
LLC,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No. 8:13-cv-2974-T-33MAP

HERNANDO COUNTY WATER AND
SEWER DISTRICT,
Defendant.
_____________________________/
ORDER
The Court considers this matter sua sponte consistent
with its obligation, as a court of limited jurisdiction, to
inquire

into

its

jurisdiction

stage of the litigation.

at

the

earliest

possible

See Kirkland v. Midland Mort.

Co., 243 F.3d 1277, 1279-80 (11th Cir. 2001) (citing Univ.
of S. Ala. v. Am. Tobacco Co., 168 F.3d 405, 410 (11th Cir.
1999)).

After doing so, the Court remands this matter to

state court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c), which states,
“[i]f at any time before final judgment it appears that the
district court lacks subject matter jurisdiction, the case
shall be remanded.”

Discussion
A defendant may remove a case filed in state court to
federal court “if the district courts of the United States
have original jurisdiction.” 28 U.S.C. § 1441(a). “Federal
courts are directed to construe removal statutes strictly,
resolve all doubts about jurisdiction in favor of remand,
and

employ

a

presumption

in

favor

of

remand

to

state

courts.” Total Fleet Solutions, Inc. v. Nat’l Crime Ins.
Bureau,

612

Furthermore,

F.

Supp.

2d

1232,

a

plaintiff’s

1234

right

to

(M.D.
choose

Fla.

2009).

his

forum

carries more weight than a defendant’s right to remove.
Burns v. Windsor Ins. Co., 31 F.3d 1092, 1095 (11th Cir.
1994).

Uncertainties concerning the propriety of removal

are resolved in favor of remand. Id. (citations omitted). A
defendant’s burden of proof is therefore a heavy one. Id.
In the present case, Defendant Hernando County removed
this action from

the Fifth Judicial Circuit in and for

Hernando County, Florida on November 22, 2013.
Hernando
diversity

County
of

premised

citizenship

this

Court’s

pursuant

to

(Doc. # 1).

jurisdiction
28

U.S.C.

§

upon
1332.

However, rather than appropriately alleging the citizenship
of

a

limited

liability

company,

the

Notice

of

Removal

instead evaluates the citizenship of American Tower under
2

the test applicable to a corporation.

(See Doc. # 1 at 2)

(“For the purposes of diversity jurisdiction, a corporation
is

deemed

a

citizen

of

any

state

in

which

it

is

incorporated and the state in which it has its princip[al]
place of business. Accordingly, Plaintiff is a citizen of
Massachusetts and Delaware.”).
In Rolling Greens MHP, L.P. v. Comcast SCH Holdings
L.L.C.,

the

Eleventh

Circuit

held

that

“like

a

limited

partnership, a limited liability company is a citizen of
any state of which a member of the company is a citizen.”
374 F.3d 1020, 1022 (11th Cir. 2004).
removing
federal

party

has

not

jurisdiction,

adequately

the

Court

Thus, because the

alleged

remands

a

this

basis

for

action

to

state court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c).
Accordingly, it is
ORDERED, ADJUDGED, and DECREED:
(1)

The Clerk is directed to REMAND this case to the Fifth
Judicial Circuit in and for Hernando County, Florida.

(2)

The Clerk is directed to CLOSE THIS CASE.
DONE and ORDERED in Chambers in Tampa, Florida, this

25th day of November, 2013.

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Copies: All Counsel of Record

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